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The financial situation at many public universities has gotten so bad that some are cutting sports teams and struggling to find enough money to stay in NCAA Division I.

Arizona State has cut men’s tennis. Cal is on the verge of cutting men’s gymnastics. A few weeks ago, the University of Nevada said its status as a major sports school was in jeopardy.

At San Diego State, the pain has included cutting 25 full-time and 12 part-time positions the past two years amid state budget cuts. And the cuts could get worse: The athletic department alone could suffer $1 million in cuts to its general fund allotment later this year, bringing it down to around $5 million.

Just don't expect Jim Sterk to panic about it. His hope is that SDSU's on-the-field momentum will offset those off-the-field headwinds.

“We should be able to withstand some of that, as long as it it’s not an Armageddon type of situation,” said Sterk, SDSU's athletic director.

His forecast is a little rosier than the one given to SDSU faculty earlier this month by President Stephen Weber.

“The state’s budget is truly a mess, and if we have to absorb the full cut that the governor has proposed as his fallback, the plan will seriously damage the university,” Weber said. “I anticipate having a tough year or so.”

The outlook is different in the athletic department in part because it has its own revenue-generating powers:

--After a 34-3 season, men’s basketball broke a school record for ticket revenue ($1.45 million) and already has 823 new season-ticket deposits for next year. That revenue exceeded budget projections by about $500,000 and earned coach Steve Fisher a $25,000 bonus. The previous record was set in 2006-07 at $1.3 million.

--Football revenue increased for the first time in at least five years to finish at $1.54 million, up from $1.39 million in 2009. This year there will be seven home games instead of the usual six, which could mean an extra $300,000.

--SDSU has received about $2 million in pledges to match booster Ron Fowler’s $5 million pledge to upgrade SDSU athletics. That money is already being used to upgrade the football practice fields with new sod and irrigation.

--On April 4, Michigan issued a $1 million check to SDSU to buy out the SDSU contract of former football coach Brady Hoke. SDSU will receive another $1 million from Michigan for playing a football game there Sept. 24. That money will help the Aztecs dig out of a $1.5 million deficit from last year.

SDSU’s athletics budget of about $33 million still includes about $15 million in combined “revenue” from the general fund and student fees.